This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a retail gasoline service station in Kittitas County, with five underground storage tanks storing regular gasoline, unleaded gasoline, and diesel fuel, along with a fuel dispenser island. In 1994, all five USTs — totaling 2,485 gallons of capacity — were removed, and a closure assessment found petroleum contamination in surrounding soil, including total lead in soil beneath the fuel dispenser island consistent with historic leaded-gasoline dispensing. Recommendations were issued for removal of contaminated backfill and off-site treatment of impacted soil, and groundwater monitoring conducted in 2011 following a 1995 assessment confirms that remediation remains a multi-year effort under the Standard Cleanup program. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible
Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.
The presence of leaded gasoline residues beneath the dispenser island places this site's petroleum operations firmly before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Cleanup costs already incurred — tank removal, soil assessment, and more than a decade of groundwater monitoring — along with the contaminated-soil removal and treatment still ahead, represent expenditures that historical carriers who insured the station during its pre-1986 operating years may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund going forward.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.